With fall just around the corner and the city curbing leaf pick up this fall, Jackson resident Dan Kuras has few options to dispose of his leaves. "As it is now, I have a big problem with my leaves this fall," he said.(J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

JACKSON,
MI – This autumn may be a tough one for city residents accustomed to having leaves disposed of by Jackson workers.

"Ensuring
that people aren't putting leaves in the street is a necessary revision until
the city, or the community, comes up with a more permanent solution," Jackson
City Councilman Derek Dobies, 6th Ward, said.

Jackson
resident Dan Kuras is finding the alternatives difficult.

"The
city used to let you burn the leaves before they banned burning but started to
pick them up for us, now we can't do either," Kuras, 60, said. "I have a Honda,
so I'd have to take multiple trips to get rid of them. I'm supposed to compost?
My lot is too small to do that."

"The
court decision couldn't have come at a worst possible time," Jackson City
Councilman Andrew Frounfelker, 5th Ward, said. "If the decision would have come
in February or March, we would have had time to change the budget and figure
out alternatives with months to spare. As it is, the budget is basically etched
in stone and fall is weeks away."

With the Michigan Court of Appeal's decision nullifying the
fee, city officials maintain they can't afford to provide the services.

"If this was a pet project of (Jackson Mayor) Marty Griffin,
he'd find the money to do it," Kuras said. "As it is now, I have a big problem
with my leaves this fall."

Patrick Burtch

Jackson City Manager Patrick Burtch said residents will be
able to dispose of their leaves on fall weekends at the city's wastewater treatment
plant, 2995 Lansing Ave. Hours of operation at the plant are not scheduled yet,
according to city officials.

Jackson resident Jason Butterfield, 28, said he isn't sure
what he'll do with his leaves this fall, adding he would "gladly" continue to
pay $8 a quarter for the service.

"Hopefully the city can find a solution that is affordable
for the city and its residents," he said. "It's disappointing, because it was a nice service
that was provided, but life will go on."

Kuras echoed Butterfield's remarks.

"I'm more than willing to pay for the service," he said. "I'm
going to pay for it somehow."

Emmons Services, Inc. president David Emmons said the refuse
hauling company provides its customers a leaf pickup service for $10 per trip to pick up the leaves, with a maximum of 12 bags. For every extra bag, an additional $1 is included in the fee.

"Nobody has really asked for the service yet, but they might
be waiting until the last minute," he said. "With the city not picking them up
they might just let them sit in their yard."

Frounfelker reminded everyone at the meeting that blight
ordinances still prohibit residents from leaving large piles of leaves on their
lawn without disposing of them.

"It's going to be a difficult and inconvenient change for
residents this fall," Frounfelker said. "The biggest noncompliance issue is
going to be people still sweeping leaves into the streets. It was an issue when we had the service that people would sweep the days after a pick up.

"The leaf service was never perfect," he added. "(The city)
can do a lot of gimmicks to provide the service – reshuffle the budget – but it
doesn't change the underlying problem: Without the revenue, we can't afford it."

Contact Will Forgrave at wforgrav@mlive.com or
517-262-7554. Follow him on Twitter at @WillForgrave.